Over the past 50 years there has been an explosion in scientific interest, research effort and information gathered on the geologic sedimentary character of the U.S. Atlantic coast continental margin. Data and information from thousands of publications have greatly increased our scientific understanding of the geologic origins of the shelf surface but rarely have those data been combined and integrated.

This publication is the first release of the Atlantic coast data from the usSEABED database. The report contains a compilation of published and unpublished sediment texture and other geologic data about the seafloor from diverse sources. usSEABED is an innovative database system developed to bring assorted data together in a unified database. The dbSEABED system is used to process the data. Examples of maps displaying attributes such as grain size and sediment color are included. This database contains information that is the scientific foundation for the USGS Marine Aggregate Resources and Processes Assessment and Benthic Habitats projects and will be useful to the marine science community for other studies of the Atlantic coast continental margin.

The publication is divided into ten sections: Home, Introduction, Contents, usSEABED (data), dbSEABED (processing), Data Catalog, References, Contacts, Acknowledgments, and Frequently Asked Questions. Use the navigation bar on the left to navigate to specific sections of this report. Underlined topics throughout the publication are links to more information. Links to specific and detailed information on processing and those to pages outside this report will open in a new browser window.